Go out and support Small Business Saturday

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 11/26/2014 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching. Even if you are not ready for shopping season there is one shopping holiday that you won’t want to miss - Small Business Saturday.

Saturday, November 29, 2014 is the day to shop in locally owned brick and mortar stores. In the midst of the hustle and bustle - especially around the holidays - we sometimes forget about our “Main Street” merchants. Small Business Saturday is a reminder of the critically important role small businesses play in our communities and in our economy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, companies with less than 20 employees account for 70 percent of American businesses. They employ 22 million people with a total payroll of $7.48 billion. 

Small businesses are part of the fabric of our communities. They support local charities and often provide teens with their first summer jobs.

Local economies are dependent on the success of their small businesses. Cities use the tax proceeds from retail sales to pay for 25 to 75 percent of basic municipal services like police and fire protection and park maintenance.

Small business is the driving force of job creation. In the 2013 Economic Report to the President, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reported that businesses with less than 500 employees accounted for more than one-half the private sector Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That means the value of the products and services from these often family owned and independent companies exceeded that of large corporations.

Small Business Saturday began in 2010 with the backing of American Express. Each year it has gained more notoriety and media attention as shoppers rally around the idea of supporting local merchants. 

A survey conducted for the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express found that $5.7 billion was “spent by consumers aware of the initiative on Small Business Saturday in 2013 alone.”

So this Saturday patronize your local grocer, farmers’ market, or hardware store. Maybe your shoes need to be repaired. Or your knives need to be sharpened. Treat yourself to some homemade chocolate or ice cream. Visit your local wine store. Have dinner at the local grill. There are a million ways to celebrate Small Business Saturday.

And while we are at it, this would be a very good time to make our first New Year’s resolution. In 2015 resolve to make a purchase from a local business at least once a week. And in doing so, you will help your local economy thrive. 

Glendora nabs ‘business friendly’ award

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 11/19/2014 

Congratulations are due to the City of Glendora. Glendora was named the “Most Business Friendly Small City in Los Angeles County” in 2014 by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). Mayor Judy Nelson and City Manager Chris Jeffers accepted the award at the 2014 Eddy Awards Dinner on November 13 - exactly 103 years to the day from the City’s incorporation.

There are many reasons the “Pride of the Foothills” deserves this prestigious award. 

Glendora is home to just over 51,000 residents nestled against the San Gabriel Mountains with easy access via the Foothill (210) and Orange (57) freeways to destinations in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange Counties. 

“Enhancing Economic Development with Community Involvement” is the first goal of the City’s recently adopted Strategic Plan and they wasted little time in pushing the metal to the pedal. Glendora offers small business loans for new and existing business owners. They are proud of their low costs of doing business including no utility taxes. Glendora has streamlined plan check services, beautification awards for commercial properties, and easy access to city hall representatives to solve problems.

CEOs and employees alike can find housing in the wide variety of tree lined neighborhoods and enjoy the unique quality of life in this beautiful city with great city services, a low crime rate, lush parks, good schools, and many places to shop and eat in the Downtown Village. 

Glendora is home to Citrus Community College - founded just four years after the City was incorporated. Some 11,000 students attend school here each year receiving Associate degrees and certificates in a variety of arts and STEM disciplines.

Glendora is also home to the famous Donut Man, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to satisfy those sweet cravings anytime. Not to mention making the best strawberry donuts in the world!

Glendora isn’t alone in being a business friendly San Gabriel Valley city. Alhambra, Monrovia, Duarte and West Covina have also won in recent years. Being home to so many business friendly cities was one of the top reasons that area businesses gave when asked why they chose the SGV. 

Let’s also give a shout-out to our neighbor, the City of Glendale, which received the Business Friendly Award for cities with populations over 60,000. Councilmember Laura Friedman accepted the award and let everyone know that the only city with both Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom was thrilled to be selected!  

Clearly Glendale deserved to win but perhaps having City Manager Scott Ochoa, who first served in the San Gabriel Valley, also helped win that award... I’m just saying!

We are fortunate to have cities which understand that all great cities have one thing in common – smart policies that support strong economic engines.

Nonprofits stand to gain needed dollars

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 11/12/2014 

Baby Boomers get the credit and the blame for many things. There are just too many Boomers and they have disrupted every system they met sometimes in good ways and sometimes in not such good ways: education, employment, popular culture and norms, and aging. Now the California Community Foundation (CCF) - a Los Angeles based foundation that supports many of the estimated 19,000 non-profit organizations in LA County - is talking about another Boomer phenomenon. 

The estimated net wealth of Los Angeles County residents in 2010 was around $1.3 trillion.  With investments and assets having increased in value in recent years that number is higher today.

All wealth is redistributed over time and CCF estimates that within the next 10 years $114 billion of this wealth will be redistributed through wills, trusts and gifts. Within the next 50 years the redistribution will reach $1.4 trillion. 

Why would CCF care about the redistribution of these dollars? Because they care about the future of philanthropy in Los Angeles County and are already helping non-profit organizations understand how to leverage these dollars for their work. 

Non-profit groups are struggling financially. The recession put extra stress on education, food, medical and other services as more individuals and families found themselves without the economic means to purchase basic needs. Non-profit organizations have struggled to keep up with the increased demands. While more people needed help, fewer people were able to support the non-profits and fundraising dollars dwindled.

As the economy slowly climbs out of the recession, non-profit organizations need to regain financial stability as well as plan for future needs. CCF has strongly urged nonprofit organizations to include planned giving campaigns as a part of their strategic plans.

Wills and trusts often include planned giving for philanthropic purposes. If just a small percentage of the wealth that will change hands in LA County - say five percent - went to non-profit organizations, the impact would be significant. Five percent of $114 billion is over $5 billion. To put that in perspective, $5 billion would cover for ten years the total operating expenses of 75 percent of the county’s active nonprofits! 

There is huge potential for impacting programs in the San Gabriel Valley. Approximately 18 percent of the County’s 10.2 million residents reside in the San Gabriel Valley.  CCF’s study found that 18.4 percent of the wealth that will transfer in the next 10 years is here in the SGV.  That’s $21 billion. Five percent going to philanthropy would provide more than $1 Billion.

Philanthropy is venture capital for investments in human “infrastructure.” Just like investments in other kinds of infrastructure – like factories, water, and transportation - investing in human infrastructure is good for the economy. It creates jobs, drives demand and increases purchasing. 

But philanthropy does more. It provides help and hope – like job training for people who can’t find work, health care so people can lead productive lives, and the safety net that keeps people from slipping into poverty. Clearly, human infrastructure investments are equally important as the other infrastructure investments we must make.

So Boomers, this time you can be heroes. Think about how you are going to redistribute your dollars. Five percent for human infrastructure would be a good investment.

California propositions explained

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 10/29/2014 

It is election season and most voters have heard advertisements for or against the ballot measures and still have no idea what some of the measures actually do. We complain that voter turnout is low yet ads that are intended to influence our votes treat us like simpletons.

The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership has studied four important propositions on the November 4 ballot. Here are our recommendations:

Proposition 1 - the Water Bond. Because of the drought, this may be the best known of the propositions. It would provide $7.5 billion for water projects. While it doesn't increase water supplies to address our current shortage, it provides much needed resources to relieve future droughts. And there will be droughts in the future.

Proposition 1 will help projects that capture and store water when it is available and make better use of sources such as recycling, reuse and storm-water. It includes money for flood control and Delta levees. Every time a levee fails, there is a risk that salt water intrusion will make the water supplies for Central Valley famers and Southern California unusable. The Partnership urges a Yes vote on Proposition 1.

Proposition 2 - the "Rainy Day Fund." Businesses and families know they need to have reserves to see them through emergencies or dips in revenues. Our state budget is heavily dependent on income taxes and one-half of income tax revenue comes from one percent of the wealthiest Californians. That makes for a volatile budget and the need for the state to have reserves too. The Partnership urges a Yes vote on Prop 2.

Proposition 45 - Insurance Company Rates. Prop 45 would give the state Insurance Commissioner authority over health premium rate increases. California recently gave the authority to negotiate rates to Covered CA - the state's health insurance pool. There is plenty of mudslinging with supporters claiming 35 states require an insurance commissioner to approve rate increases. Opponents' counter we haven't tried the system we just implemented.

Everyone agrees that passage of Prop 45 will cost consumers money but supporters say it amounts to only a few million per year. A million here a million there - you know it adds up. If the current system doesn't work, then we can fix it. The Partnership urges a No vote on Prop 45.

Proposition 46 - Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Cap and Drug Testing of Doctors. This proposition is misleading in so many ways. You hear "lawsuit cap" and think that is a good thing. Prop 46 INCREASES the malpractice payment cap from $250,000 to $1.1 million. That will increase malpractice insurance rates and guess who pays for that - we do in our health insurance rates.

The random testing of doctors is included to camouflage the goal of increasing law suits. Proposition backers - mostly trail lawyers - admit the provision was included because it polled well. The Partnership urges a No vote on Proposition 46.

Remember to vote on November 4.